Though this museum is conceptualized as a digital space, it was initially inspired by the historic office of the Atlanta Daily World, which is currently unoccupied and located on Atlanta’s historic Auburn Avenue. The historic avenue is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Bethel A.M.E. Church.
As the first daily black newspaper in the United States and one of the most influential black newspapers in the South from the early 20th century to today. It is important to ground the project in this history, and find ways to honor the Daily World’s legacy while continuing to preserve its original building.
As a result, below are a series of floor plans detailing what a theoretical physical museum dedicated to the black press could look like if it were set in the Atlanta Daily World‘s original building. In addition to the exhibits already digitally created and curated on this site, the museum would include a number of community-centered areas including a library/research room for interested members of the community or academic researchers to sift through historic newspapers. Additionally, an envisioned community and oral history room sits on the second floor, allowing community members to host meetings or events, as well as record oral histories for the preservation of Auburn Avenue and Atlanta’s African American history.
